Patrick Reed blasted the PGA Tour for painting him as a villain. He also called out the leadership for not listening to its players when he joined LIV Golf in 2022. Fast forward four years, Reed’s tenure at LIV has ended, and so has his grudge against the PGA Tour. In January, he said the PGA Tour is the best in the world.

Pressed further on the matter at the Masters press conference on Monday, Reed was asked when he realized it. The expected answer was that he realized it after leaving for LIV, or during his last year in the Saudi-backed league. But Reed’s answer was quite different and rather unexpected, which is likely to irk his former LIV colleagues like Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson.

“No, I’ve always known [that the PGA Tour is the best in the world]. When you look at it, the best players in the world and the deepest fields from top to bottom are on the PGA Tour. I’ve played every tour now. I’ve played on every single one of them,” said Reed, who is currently playing on the DP World Tour.

Reed, who has won nine times on the PGA Tour, left for LIV in 2022, while praising the PIF-funded league for its light schedule and revolutionary format. However, his recent comments reveal he was disillusioned with LIV after joining. Currently, per Data Golf, which ranks the PGA Tour and LIV golfers, only two LIV pros are inside the top-20, with Rahm at 2nd and DeChambeau at 11th.

The field at most PGA Tour events has a few of the top-20 pros from Data Golf. And almost every week, they have a chance to compete against one another. That’s something that most golfers crave. 

“It’s one of those that from top to bottom that’s the place that I feel like is best for us to go and compete against the top guys year in and year out, week in and week out; but at the same time, to be able to spend more time closer to home makes it a lot easier to spend time with the kids.”

For Patrick Reed, it’s important to spend time with his family, considering what his kids have been going through recently. Reed spoke about his kids getting bullied at school because of the cheating allegations against him.

“When they all of a sudden look at your children and say stuff about them, it’s like you don’t even know my children, and why would you even bring kids into it? It’s not fun having to deal with some of the stuff that we deal with. The great thing is I have an amazing support team at home and an amazing family,” said the former Masters champion in a recent interview.

Reed’s daughter is now 11, and his son is now eight. Unlike LIV golfers, PGA Tour pros don’t really need to travel the world every other week. That’s another reason why Brooks Koepka decided to switch gears and return to the PGA Tour under the Returning Member Program. 

However, during his time with LIV Golf, Reed was one of the more vocal supporters of the breakaway league, often pushing back against the PGA Tour’s dominance and defending LIV’s format, vision, and, of course, the boatload of money. To make things worse, he even bashed the PGA Tour more than once while he was competing for the 4 Aces. He believed the PGA Tour overlooked his success and portrayed his move to LIV Golf in a bad light. It’s something that no golfer would like.

“I mean, they painted me as a villain, which, hey, I don’t mind being the guy that goes in to try to wreck everyone’s day… but I felt like whenever I did something successful or did the things that really meant a lot to me, those kind of got brushed under the table because they wanted to keep me in that one role,” ‘Captain America’ said back in April 2025.

Right now, Reed’s stance on the PGA Tour has softened. He is actually looking to earn a PGA Tour card via the DP World Tour. The top ten players in the Race to Dubai Rankings will earn PGA Tour cards. Reed ranks first in the list.

But what pushed Reed to make the switch? Did Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour play a role in Reed’s decision?

What really pulled Patrick Reed back into the PGA Tour?

The decision came quickly while Reed was teeing off in Dubai. He didn’t just want to join the PGA Tour but also get back to the traditional way of playing golf. Of course, his family played a huge role in his return to the PGA Tour. Regardless of what Jon Rahm, DeChambeau, or Cameron Smith thought of returning to the PGA Tour, Reed believed he made the best decision. And he has enjoyed every minute he spent at home because of it.

But his recent comments reveal that he was also frustrated by a possible lack of competition in the Saudi-backed league. The case was pretty similar to Koepka, who appeared dissatisfied with the LIV Golf in his last season. Reportedly, Jon Rahm is also not happy with his time in LIV Golf. Although Rahm has publicly supported LIV Golf, Reed’s about-turn shows that there might be an undercurrent of dissatisfaction running through LIV.

Right now, Patrick Reed has decided to bury the hatchet with the PGA Tour, and it looks like the Tour is ready to welcome him back as well. Reed will be eligible to tee off on the PGA Tour by the fall of 2026 as a past champion, but he can only play on a sponsor exemption. PGA Tour mainstays like J.J. Spaun, Keegan Bradley, and others have spoken enthusiastically about Reed’s possible return. They believe it shows the Tour’s importance and superiority.